Pastis is an anise-seed-flavored liqueur that is a popular apéritif in southeastern France. It is similar to Pernod, which is made in northern France.
Pastis is actually a watered-down version of absinthe, which was considered "madness in a bottle" and banned in France, in 1915, because the wormwood was thought to cause hallucinations and madness.
Manufacturers responded by stripping absinthe of wormwood, upping the anise flavor and sugar and lowering the alcohol content. But licorice-y pastis is still very strong; to drink it, you dilute it with cold water -- and ice if you like it extra-cold -- which turns it cloudy.
When used in cooking, pastis lends a licorice note, particularly to seafood dishes.
Note: Pastis is also a word for pastries made in southwestern France.
Recipe: Pastis Negroni (Cookthink)
Recipe: Pastis-Flamed Shrimp (Cookthink)
Absinthe is an anise-flavored spirit that was invented by the Swiss and made infamous by the French.
It is drunk in a ritual that involves pouring absinthe and water into a glass over a sugar cube placed on a slotted silver spoon.
Absinthe developed a nickname -- The Green Fairy -- because of its magical effects on famous artists and bohemians in late 19th century and early 20th century Paris. Hemingway invented an absinthe-and-Champagne cocktail called Death in the Afternoon. And painters like Degas immortalized the drink in famous works of art.
But absinthe also developed a dangerous reputation -- mostly because its principal ingredient wormwood was believed to be poisonous and drive men to madness -- and The Green Fairy was banned in several countries including France in the early 20th century.
Manufacturers removed the offending wormwood and boosted its anise and sugar content to create what is now known as pastis, a liqueur popular in southern France.
But absinthe was never banned completely, and since its revival in the 1990s, the drink has developed a 21st-century cult following. One of its most outspoken advocates, the singer Marilyn Manson, has his own official absinthe, Mansinthe.
(Image courtesy of The Absinthe Kit.)
what you should know
An anise-flavored liqueur native to southern France, pastis is known as the "milk of Provence." It's the honey, too, a symbol for the region's slower, sunnier pace.
Peter Mayle, who made a fortune selling the idea of Provence, wrote in his second book that "the most powerful ingredient in pastis is not aniseed or alcohol, but ambiance."
pastiche The classic/clichéd setting for a pastis: among the old men lobbing boules on a hard-dirt pétanque court in Aix-en-Provence, the plane trees spangling in the late afternoon sun.
5 to 1 To enjoy pastis, just mix it with cold water. The classic ratio of water to pastis is five parts water to one part pastis.
madness in a bottle Pastis is a friendlier, less hallucinogenic relative of absinthe, the wormwood-laced liqueur that was banned for decades because of fears it caused madness.
drink me? Marilyn Manson -- better known around here as Evan Rachel Wood's boyfriend -- is at the forefront of an absinthe renaissance. The genre-bending rocker has his own absinthe label called Mansinthe.
what you need
Though you could use any old jug of cold water to dilute your pastis, there's something especially refreshing about water from a chilled glass pitcher.
Those old French men are onto something: you can't improve on a warm day spent tossing boules while sipping pastis. Get your own pétanque set from Playaboule.
If you really want to get in the mood for pastis, make something out of Patricia Well's At Home in Provence and then plop down in front of the TV for a marathon session of Claude Berri's masterworks, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources .
what you do
A classic pastis is the perfect apéritif, but perfect can get boring. When you need a change, try a pastis Negroni instead.
Goat cheese coated with pastis and Herbes de Provence is a simple and elegant way to create a delicious appetizer.
If you're bored by the same old thing, start a fire with this dramatic pastis-flamed shrimp.
Mussels love pastis almost as much as white wine. So why not combine them for these mussels with shallots and tomato sauce?
There is nothing more classically Provençal than bouillabaisse, the rich, aromatic throw-fish-in-a-pot stew.
Featured recipe: For dessert, try these cornmeal and pastis cookies, from Cooking 4 the Week (again!). It is the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge.
How to clean clams, mussels and other mollusks
How to clean clams, mussels and other mollusks
Cleaning your Shellfish:
Before mussels and clams are cooked, the shells must be scrubbed in cold water with a stiff brush to remove any barnacles and sand. Reduce the amount of interior sand by soaking them in cold water mixed with a few handfuls of cornmeal for 30 to 60 minutes.
Debearding the Mussel
Wild mussels (mussels are also farmed) require an additional cleaning step -- debearding. Protruding between mussels' shells is a small bristle or beard, by which the mussel attaches itself to rocks or pilings. Shortly before cooking, remove the beard by tightly grasping the hairs near their base and giving a sharp tug. The beard should snap off along with a tiny bit of mussel flesh.
Parsley used to be a gross-looking garnish on the side of your plate. Now, we think of it as one of the best go-to herbs to work into your cooking. It adds a bright but relatively neutral herbal flavor to almost any dish.To prep it, first rinse and shake dry the leaves. Hold the bouquet at an angle with the leaves against the cutting board. Run your knife down the side of the bouquet to slice away the leaves. It's fine to remove some of the tender stems along with the leaves.Now just run your knife back and forth across the pile of leaves, chopping them as coarsely or as finely as you need to. The closer to the end of the cooking you plan to add the parsley, the finer you'll want to chop it. But since parsley's so tender it's usually okay to keep the the chop coarse.
Wild mussels (mussels are also farmed) require an additional cleaning step -- debearding. Protruding between a mussel's shells is a small bristle or beard, by which the mussel attaches itself to rocks or pilings. Shortly before cooking, remove the beard by tightly grasping the hairs near their base and giving a sharp tug. The beard should snap off along with a tiny bit of mussel flesh.
Reference: How to clean mussels, clams and other mollusks (Sunday Dinners)
Recipe: Steamed Clams And Mussels With Mint Kefir (Sunday Dinners)
